


Science Fiction/Double Feature

by Mertens



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angels, Body Horror, Eyes, Fic within a Fic, Gen, M/M, Sweaters, and their weird lives, angels are covered in eyes, that's just how it is, this story has an "A Plot" and a "B Plot"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-06-25
Packaged: 2018-01-22 01:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1570148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mertens/pseuds/Mertens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A day in the life of Erika. </p><p>Erika runs some errands for Old Woman Josie. But there's something else going on around town, something that just might concern a certain radio host and a certain scientist. Erika <i>should</i> be running errands, but sometimes eavesdropping on local gossip is more interesting...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Oh, What a Beautiful Morning

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from the song in the movie Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Erika's day began just like all of his days began - the sun came up. When the sun came up on this day, Erika was standing in the corner of the attic. He had spent most of the night wandering around the house until he got bored and decided to just stand still for a while. He would have gone outside during the night to look at the stars and the Void, but he thought he had heard a noise out there, and he didn't want to see what had made it.

After the sun was up, he was fairly certain that whatever had made the offending noise was gone. He made his way down to the kitchen. The coffee pot was on, giving off a scent that Erika couldn't quite understand. He touched the coffee pot in the hopes of figuring out why Josie liked to drink this so much, but the pot merely sparked blue and green electricity. 

Erika heard Josie coming down the stairs. He quickly moved away from the coffee pot, hoping he didn't break it. He didn't want a repeat of what happened with the toaster.

Josie entered the kitchen and began to cook breakfast. Erika peered over her shoulder, wondering what they would have that morning. As soon as it became apparent that they would be eating oatmeal, Erika pulled some bowls from the cupboard. Josie poured herself a cup of coffee and Erika turned away nervously. Josie didn't seem to notice anything off about the coffee though, and put the oatmeal bowls on the table. 

"Where are the rest of you today?" she asked.  
Erika shrugged.  
"Well, I think I'm just going to be staying for the day, so if you want to go somewhere go ahead. Although I do have a few errands you could run, but I don't want to interfere if you already had plans."  
Erika shook his head and reached out a hand.  
"The list is on the refrigerator." she nodded towards the fridge. "Finish your breakfast, first."

Erika reached down and levitated the cereal bowl up towards his face. The oatmeal inside turned shadowy and disappeared. He floated the bowl over to the sink and went to look at the list. It wasn't a very long list, and Erika liked doing things for Josie. He took the list with him as he walked out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and into the spare bedroom. He looked in the closet, shuffling through the clothes until he found what he was looking for - a long, hand knitted sweater with the design of a kitten on the front. Josie had made it just for him. Being an Angel, he really didn't have a reason to wear clothes, but he liked the fact that Josie had made something especially for him. Besides this, there weren't many things that would fit him - being ten feet tall and all - even if he did want to wear clothes sometimes. He pulled the sweater on over his head and put the list into the pocket.

Erika went back to the living room, looking for Josie before he left. Sure enough, there she was, sitting in her soft chair across from the TV, basket full of yarn at her feet. He paused beside her for a moment, watching the channel she had turned to. It was some sort of game show in black-and-white. Erika thought game shows were ok, but his favorite were the shows where the two women would fight over who the man loved more, or the men would fight over who was the father of the child. Erika loved those shows the best.

Erika pointed to the front door to let Josie know he was leaving. 

"Be careful out there." she told him. He placed his hand on the top of her head for a moment, whispering a blessing over her. He wanted to make sure she would be safe while he was away.

Erika glanced back one last time before heading out the door. Josie was engrossed in her game show, shouting at the television set. Erika stepped outside and closed the door, burning a protective rune over the doorknob for good measure. With this done, he reached into his pocket to look at the list of errands.

They seemed simple enough, but one cold never tell in Night Vale.


	2. Talkin' Paranoid Blues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of an AU, if it isn't already clear... But really, aren't *all* fan fics AU?
> 
> Generally too lazy to proofread, so if you see a mistake, let me know :3

First up on the list was a trip to the Ralph's. Erika decided to get this out of the way first, as it was the closest. Josie had scribbled down the things she needed on the back of the list. Erika had memorized the list by the time he got to the store.

Upon entering the Ralph's, Erika passed by the shopping carts and baskets, confident the he wouldn't be needing one. Before getting the food needed, Erika lingered a little by the magazine section. As a being without any hair, Erika found women's hairstyle magazines fascinating. So many choices and colors. Sometimes Erika was secretly jealous of the women in the magazines, and would consider what it would be like to have hair. Technically, he could give himself the appearance of hair if he really wanted to, but he had the sneaking suspicion that if he did, the other Erikas would mock him.

Erika put the magazine back on the shelf and went off in search of what Josie needed. It seemed like a slow shopping day, and that disappointed Erika. There were only a few customers going up and down the isles. Erika liked it when the stores were crowded, full of bustling people going about their days, each with different goals and hopes and fears. 

Erika opened the door of the frozen food case. He pulled out a few frozen dinners that Josie had named on the list and held them in front of him for a second before letting go. Instead of falling to the ground, the frozen dinners began to orbit around Erika's body. With a satisfied nod, Erika continued on his way, occasionally grabbing a product off the shelf and adding it to the orbit.

Erika went down the row with the laundry soap - the last thing on the list from Ralph's. Erika noticed someone was down this row. They were standing with their back to him, engrossed in reading the label of a bottle of detergent. Erika didn't recognize this person right away, and decided to see who this stranger was.

Upon closer inspection, Erika remembered this was the scientist from outside Night Vale. Upon closer, closer inspection, the scientist was puzzling over the ingredients of the detergent - he seemed to be stuck on "extract of house gecko". Erika made a "hmm" noise, or at least, the angelic equivalent of one. 

Carlos yelped and almost dropped the bottle of soap. He hadn't been expecting to be anywhere near at him - the store was almost empty, after all - and he certainly hadn't expected anyone who was about four feet taller than himself to be standing so close without warning. He quickly recovered, though, and noticed that there were groceries orbiting this person. He was terribly curious how that was happening, but didn't want to appear rude and ask.

"Oh, hello… Erika, is it?"

Erika nodded.

"How are you? I was just picking up some groceries for Cecil."  
Carlos had spoken to several angels before, but those times had only been brief greetings. He had never really had a conversation with one before, and he was a little nervous.  
"Uh, you know, you're quite a bit taller than me… Would you mind too much…" he trailed the sentence off and shyly pointed to a package of dish soap on the top shelf, out of reach for Carlos, but right where Erika could see it.

Erika took it off the shelf and handed it to Carlos.

"Thanks so much! Hey, is it ok to ask you a question?"

Erika just looked at Carlos, politely going a small nod to show he was listening. 

"I hope it's not too personal to ask, but - you're able to see things that aren't nearby, right? Like, remote viewing?"

Erika confirmed this.

Carlos raked a hand through his hair. "Wow. Um, by any chance, are you able to see Cecil right now? I mean, I just want to make sure he's ok - he hasn't answered any of my texts today, and that's just so unlike him." he rushed to explain.

Erika continued to look at Carlos, but turned one of the eyes on his forehead towards Cecil. Images flashed through his mind as he searched for the radio host.

Ah. There he was. 

"Can you see him?" Carlos whispered, staring up with wide eyes at Erika.

Erika nodded again. In his mind he could see what Cecil was doing at this very moment. He was sitting in a booth at Big Rico's, texting away on his cell phone.

Cecil paused. He knew that feeling. Someone was watching him.

"Is he ok?" Carlos asked. 

Erika nodded.

"Well, what's he doing, then?" It bothered him a little that Cecil would just blow off his texts without so much as an 'I'm busy'.

In the booth at Big Rico's, Cecil thought as loudly as he could to Erika. "Please don't tell Carlos where I am!"

Erika heard him, and briefly thought it over. Cecil had lived here all his life, and had certain… Abilities.   
Carlos, on the other hand, had only lived here about two years. And while he did have perfect hair, Erika decided his loyalty was to the Night Vale native, not the newcomer. 

Erika just stared at Carlos, blinking all five of his eyes. After a few minutes, Carlos realized that was all he was going to get out of Erika. He huffed.   
"Angels don't exist, anyway." he muttered under his breath as he continued down the isle.

Erika made his way to the front of the store to pay for his groceries. He wasn't sure what Cecil was up to, and by the time he thought to turn an eye to what Cecil had been typing on his phone, Cecil was already on his way out the door.

Erika walked up to the register. The young lady behind the counter looked around nervously, unsure about whether or not to acknowledge someone who didn't exist. Instead of putting the groceries on the conveyer belt to get scanned, Erika left them in their orbit. He motioned to girl to hold out her hands, which she did, hoping her manager didn't see her. Erika held his hand out over hers and quickly twisted his wrist. A small pile of coins fell from the palm of his hand and into hers. Erika nodded a goodbye and went on his way. He was very sure he had gotten the right amount - he had even added some in for the tax he knew he would owe. 

He headed back to Josie's house, as the frozen food would be melting soon and needed to be put away. His mind started to wander as he walked back home. Everyone, absolutely everyone, knew how much Cecil loved Carlos, and by extension, being around Carlos. What he could he be up to that he didn't want the scientist to find out about?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I've started a story without much of a plan. I just don't learn my lessons...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to live on the edge, so I don't go back and re-read my stuff :B

After putting the food away in the freezer and briefly checking on Josie to make sure she hadn't accidentally fallen into a parallel universe, Erika set out once again. This time he had to deliver some items Josie had knitted - 7 individual mittens, 3 scarves, and 2 hats - to Teddy Williams. Josie had left them right by the door with a little note for Teddy attached. Erika picked them up and phased them into a pocket of air near his wings. 

When Erika got to the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex, there was a fair number of people inside. Erika couldn't see Teddy behind the counter for the bowling shoes, but the person who was there waved Erika over. 

"You're looking for Teddy, right? He's over in the Arcade right now." the person pointed to the other side of the building.

Erika went through the archway that separated the bowling alley form the arcade. Upon passing over, the noises of arcade games filled his head. Neon lights were flashing from various places. Erika went up to the prize counter. Teddy was no where to be seen, but there was a little button that had a small sign in from of it that said "push for service". Erika pushed the button waited.

As he was waiting, he noticed that a few more Erikas were here as well. One of the other Erikas saw him, too, and made his way over to where he was standing. The other Erika leaned against the counter next to Erika. They exchanged telepathic pleasantries, and from the corner of Erika's eye, he noticed someone sitting at one of the tables.

Cecil Palmer.

Erika asked the newcomer Erika what Cecil was doing here. The other Erika told him that Cecil had been texting people ever since he got here. They both watched as another man walked up to the table. Cecil's face lit up as he approached. Erika was about to listen in on their conversation when a voice from behind. 

"Erkia!" it was almost more of a cough than a name.

Both Erikas jumped at that turned around. Teddy Williams was standing there, specifically not looking in their direction, glancing between the wall of prizes and the potted tree that stood in the corner. The tree only had leaves at the top, and just behind the scrawny trunk you could clearly see the Sheriff's Secret Police Officer hiding. No one seemed to pay any attention this, however, as they were all used to this. 

"I need to remember to water that plant." Teddy muttered to himself. "I wonder if Josie finished that knitting, too." he still wasn't looking in Erika's direction - he knew better than to talk to someone who didn't exist when he was in clear view of the Sheriff's Secret Police.

Erika phased the items back into existence, pulled them out of his wings, and set them on the counter. Teddy nodded to no one in particular, put a stack of money on the counter, and took the knitted items. Erika looked down at the money. It glowed darkly for a second before disappearing with a faint humming noise and an iridescence. 

With that matter settled, Erika turned back to see what Ceil was up to. 

"I'm just so excited this is finally happening!" Cecil told the other man. Erika's ears perked up - or they would have, if Erika actually had ears and not a complex system for hearing that involved echolocation and astral planes.   
"You have no idea how hard this has been to keep from Carlos!"

Oh, interesting. 

"I mean, I think this is going to work out great - he doesn't suspect a thing! I've been so afraid I'd accidentally let something slip about this, you know?"

Erika was very intrigued. Cecil was meeting with a man and planning something - something he wanted to keep from Carlos. Erika couldn't help but think about his favorite tv shows... How strange would it be to watch The Voice of Night Vale and The Scientist on the television in Josie's house - on the shows were the former lovers quarreled? He wondered which one would break down in tears first, or if there would be yelling instead. He wondered how long Cecil had been meeting with this man, and if Carlos had any secrets of his own that had driven Cecil to this. 

Erika shivered with delight. To think, all this time he had spent in front of the television screen to see some drama, and now it was happening in real life, playing out before his many eyes! He focused on the conversation again.   
The two talked a little more, though Erika had no frame of reference for what was going on. All he managed to gather was that they would be meeting again later that night at the Pinkberry. 

Now, when Erika had gone downstairs to Josie's kitchen that morning, he had thought he had a pretty good idea of how he would be spending his day. He would run his errands, maybe see a few of the other Erikas, and go back home to watch game shows. He had absolutely no reason to be going to the Pinkberry, or really anywhere near the Pinkberry. He wasn't really a fan of their frozen yogurt, even if it was a great low calorie snack that came in a lot of different flavors with delicious toppings. But right now, Erika felt something he'd never felt before - a terrible urge to be at the Pinkberry tonight. Oh, say around 8pm? And there was nothing weird about that. Nothing weird at all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's a mistake, let me know! :D


	4. Chapter 4

Erika's errands were done for the day. He was taking a stroll down the sidewalk, heading in a roundabout way towards the Pinkberry without actually looking like he was trying to go to the Pinkberry. He tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, and it helped that most people were trying to not look directly at him. At the moment, his path was taking him by Big Rico's. He noticed a familiar face at one of the tables on the patio. Carlos was sitting by himself and the table with a forlorn look on his face. He glanced up and gave a small wave as Erika passed by. 

Erika paused. He didn't know a whole lot about the man, but Erika liked him nevertheless. Besides Old Woman Josie and Cecil, Carlos was one of the only townspeople to openly acknowledge him. 

"Hello... Again." Carlos was almost certain this was the same angel from the grocery store.

The thought passed through Carlos' mind -and not for the first time - about how much he would love to study everything about the angels. The amount of scientific discoveries that could be made... But Carlos didn't want to be rude, and asking about how one even manages to exist is generally considered impolite, so he decided to stick with small talk for now. Erika was lingering by his table, so he took this as the cue to keep talking. 

"It's mandatory Big Rico's day for me." he gestured to his slice of gluten free pizza. "Well, it's actually *our* mandatory Big Rico's day - mine and Cecil's. We usually come here together. I still haven't heard from him. And its not like I need to know where he is all time - I mean, he's an adult! It's just - I'm worried about him... An-and whether or not he's had his mandatory pizza for the week..."

Carlos was vaguely certain that he was embarrassing himself. He hadn't meant to ramble on, but the angel made him feel nervous. He wasn't even sure if he was supposed to be talking to them - or even looking at them - and he was beginning to wonder if angels could even speak. For that matter, could they even understand what he was saying?

It wasn't just the language difficulty, either. 

Now, Carols was not a short man. He wasn't exceptionally tall, either. But Carlos couldn't help but feel small and insignificant next to something that was ten feet tall, had a series of halos floating above it's head, and several wings that looked like they could block out the sun if they were unfurled. 

Carlos was not sure which set of eyes he was supposed to look at. He assumed the ones towards the middle of Erika's face were the safest bet, but one could never be sure in Night Vale. Eyes kept appearing and disappearing on various parts of Erika's body - in his wings, on his hands, peeking out on his neck half hidden by the sweater - winking and blinking in and out of existence. It was rather unsettling. 

Erika kept standing there, kept *staring*, and Carlos started to feel a little bad. After all, Erika could't help the fact the he was covered in eyes. For all he knew, it made Erika just as uncomfortable. Carlos gestured to the other chair at his table.

"Would you like to sit down?"

Erika nodded and sat down, hunching over a little so he could keep his face more or less even with Carols'. 

"Do you need to order something? I not sure if it's mandatory for you, or if you've already had yours, or -"

At that moment the waitress, who was walking by their table, hissed at Carlos - "We don't serve their kind here!" - and saved Erika from having to answer. Carlos didn't know how to respond to that. He wondered if he was about to get in trouble for just having Erika sit at his table, but the waitress seemed to have moved on and left it at that.

Carlos sighed and poked at the pizza with a fork. 

"Wherever he is, I hope he's alright. I wouldn't want him to get in trouble just because he forgot to eat his pizza again."

Erika could see that Carlos truly cared about Cecil. He could see it in the way Carlos frowned at the thought of Cecil being in trouble. He could see it in the way the colors mixed in his aura - the color of worry intertwining with the predominate color of love. Erika decided that even though Cecil had asked him not to tell Carlos what he was up to, he could help ease his mind - for now, at least. 

Erika let Carlos know that Cecil had already had his mandatory Big Rico's for the week.

Carlos flinched and put a hand against his forehead. He looked up at Erika with wide panicked eyes. Erika understood. It could be frightening to hear other voices in your head at first. Carols glanced around, but life seemed to be going on as usual.

"Was that you just now?" his voice wavered little more than he would have liked. 

As the shock started to wear off, his own mind started to scream at him about implications of a technology that could replicate what had just happened. He took off his glasses and rubbed his hands over his face, trying to get rid of the remaining tingly feeling. 

"He was already here? I wonder why he didn't say anything? We always come here together…"

He put his glasses back on. 

"I guess…" he hesitated.

Erika leaned forward eagerly - maybe a little too eagerly. Carlos was lost in his own thoughts, though, and didn't notice.

"Well, the past week or so I've been really busy over at the lab. I guess, looking back, maybe I could have taken a little more time off to spend with him. He did call that one time on Tuesday and I never got back to him." he winced. "You don't think he's still mad, do you?" he looked up at Erika.

Erika seemed to be intent on what he was saying, but Carlos didn't feel a respond in his mind.

"Cecil is right - I get too caught in my work sometimes. But he knows that's just how I am! I hope he didn't take it too personal. I'll have to make it up to him somehow."

The sun was starting to go down, and it was extra loud that evening. Carlos was finishing the last of his pizza when a text came through on his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen.

"Oh! It's from Cecil!" his smile quickly faded, though. "He says he needs to talk to me about something."

Erika felt like he was going to burst from excitement. This was way better than his TV shows, and it was all playing out live, right here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go. (◡‿◡✿)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! :]

Carlos called Cecil's number. His frown deepened when the call was immediately rejected and went to voice mail.

"Hey Cecil, I just wanted to see what you wanted to talk about…" he paused for a moment. "I know I've been pretty busy lately, and I want to make that up to you."

Erika watched with rapt attention as Carlos proceeded to type out a text asking Cecil when he wanted to talk. Carlos chewed on his lip as he nervously awaited a reply. He didn't have to wait too long, though, as the screen flashed with a message that read:

I don't wanna talk about it over the phone. Can we talk in person?

Carlos texted back:

Of course - anything you want! When is best for you?

Carlos was so caught up in the conversation that he didn't even notice Erika was leaning slightly out of his seat and craning his neck to be able to read his cell phone screen.

Cecil replied:

Tonight? 8pm, at the Pinkberry?

Several of Erika's eyes narrowed in confusion. Why would Cecil want Carlos to be at the same place where he was meeting the other man? It didn't make sense.

Carlos quickly sent a response confirming he would there, and after hesitating just a second, also sent a heart emoticon. Carlos rarely sent emoticons - that was more of a thing Cecil did. But if Cecil was mad at him, it surely wouldn't hurt to send a less-than-three sign to him, no matter how silly it seemed to Carlos.

He stared hard at the screen, but no reply came. It only made him feel more nervous. His lat text didn't need a reply, strictly speaking, but the lack of anything from Cecil made him think of an icy silence. 

He glanced up for a brief moment and did a double take. He wasn't sure what was more surprising, the fact that Erika was close enough to read his texts, or the fact that Erika was slightly glowing in the near-dark. Carlos cleared his throat and Erika sat back down in his chair and crossed his arms, pretending he hadn't just been caught by the other man. 

Carlos checked the time on the cell phone. It was around 7:30ish… The numbers would change every few seconds, but he was able to figure that it was somewhere between the 7:21, 7:50, and 7:34 that the clock kept cycling through. In between those series of numbers, an infinity sign would flash briefly, but he had gotten used to that a long time ago.

He sighed. 

"I guess I should head over there." 

Throwing his paper plate in the trash bin, he then pushed in his chair at the table and started down the sidewalk. He noticed Erika was following behind him. He wasn't entirely sure what to do about that, as he really didn't want to have an important - and probably very personal - talk with Cecil in front Erika. He didn't feel comfortable telling the angel to leave, though, because he had a strange suspicion that Erika could probably smite him if angered, and Carols really didn't want to test that theory out. Besides, maybe he happened to be heading that way himself.

Erika tried to follow Carols at what he though was a pretty sly distance, but in reality was only about 15 feet away. The Pinkberry was several blocks over, and the time it took to walk there gave the both of them time to think.

Erika was still trying to figure out what exactly would happen when they got there. His mind started to wander from his favorite TV shows to other shows he watched sometimes. The only connection he could come up with was from a show where someone had wanted to break up with their girlfriend, and he had taken her to an ice cream shop so she couldn't cause a scene. Was that what was going on? Did Cecil want to break up with Carlos at the Pinkberry? Was the other man he spoke to in the Arcade his new boyfriend? The more Erika thought about it, the more it puzzled him.

They had been walking for a few minutes when Carlos spotted a familiar car driving down he road. It was the car that belonged to Alice, one of the other scientists he worked with. Alice was driving, and inside the car were the rest of the scientists from his team. They noticed him as they paused at the stoplight, and they tried their best not to look at him despite Carlos waving at them. As the light changed and the car took off, they burst out laughing, leaving Carlos on the sidewalk wondering what was so funny.

"Where are they going, anyway? They didn't tell me about it…" he muttered to himself. 

Carols and the group of four scientists were pretty close - as much as he loved Night Vale, it was nice to have group of friends he could talk about normal things with. Ever since he had started spending more time with Cecil, he didn't go out with the scientists quite as much as before, but they still always asked him to go along on their adventures. They had even let Carlos know that Cecil was welcome to come along on any trip, an offer he had taken up once or twice. That was why he was surprised they hadn't told him about tonight. What were they up to that they didn't want him to come along? He couldn't help but feel a little left out. He watched as the car containing his friends drove on down the road and turned after a few blocks.

It was when Carlos and Erika were more than half way to the Pinkberry that they heard the sound of someone running from behind them.

"Hello Erika! Hello Carlos!" a young girl's voice called, cheerful but out of breath.

Carols recognized her as Intern Dana from the radio station. 

"Hi, Dana." Carlos said., and Erika blinked in her direction.

She was carrying a large bag filled with something that couldn't quite be discerned, but out of the top there was crepe paper streamer hanging out. She paused her running once she passed Carlos and looked back at them. 

"Carlos, I saw a really interesting snail on the ground back there! " she pointed back in the direction she had come from. 

"I think it might have been a human that got turned into a snail! You should use your science to see what's going on."

"Oh?" he glanced back at the sidewalk. "I really can't, though. I'm meeting Cecil in a few minutes. I don't want to be late."

Dana jogged on a little ahead of them.

"I'm sure it'll be ok if you're a few minutes late - Cecil will understand!" she called back as she noticed the streamer hanging out of her bag and shoved it back in.

Carlos shrugged his shoulders. As much as he worried about a citizen in snail form being stepped on by a careless foot, he worried more about upsetting Cecil. The citizen snail would just have to wait. Dana had run faster up the side walk, turning at one of the houses to run down the alleyway.

By the time Carlos got to the Pinkberry it was completely dark outside. He paused in front of the door. He thought about pulling his phone out and getting an idea of the time, but it didn't really matter. He glanced over at Erika, who had not turned away and was now standing next to him. Carols found he had pretty much come to terms with the fact that Erika seemed to be intent on prying into his and Cecil's life for the night.

Erika didn't want to reach for the door first, so he just there. The look on Carlos' face was mournful as he glanced at Erika, and Erika felt bad for the scientist. Contrary to what Erika had thought earlier, this wasn't as exciting as when it was on television. Erika wouldn't get to change the channel when he got bored. He would have to see the aftermath of whatever happened here. At least one of them would be very upset, and that made Erika feel kind of bad, because Erika actually knew these people. So he waited for Carlos to open the door and possibly have his life changed forever.

Carlos didn't know what to except as he stood in front of the frozen yogurt store. The blinds on the windows were down, which was unusual, and he couldn't even see inside the building. He took a deep breath and put his hand on the door handle. 

"Well, here goes…" he said, both to himself and partly to Erika.

He pulled the door open and walked inside, Erika following closely behind.

 

"SURPRISE!"

 

Carlos was surprised, all right. Erika was pretty surprised, too.

People were throwing confetti and cheering. From the middle of the crowd, Cecil emerged and put a party hat on Carlos.

"Happy Birthday, Carlos!" Cecil gushed, giving him a tight hug.

Carlos was having trouble finding the right words, but he hugged Cecil back.

"You're… You're not mad at me?" he whispered to Cecil.

Cecil pulled back. "Of course not! Now come have some cake!" he gestured over to one of the tables with a rather large cake on top of it.

Standing next to the table with the cake was the man from earlier. 

"Cecil said blackberry was your favorite, so I made it with a blackberry filling!" the man grinned.

"I tried a sample before I ordered it, Carlos, and I think you're going to love it!" Cecil told him. 

Cecil turned to Erika and held up another party hat as high as he could. Erika took the hint and leaned his head down.

"Thank you for not telling!" Cecil told him as he placed the hat on Erika's head, just slightly off center so it wouldn't bump into his halo.

Erika just nodded. This wasn't what he was expecting at all, but it was much, much better. Erika had never been to a party before.

Carlos had recovered form most of his shock and was now sitting at a table with a slice of cake some frozen yogurt.

"I can't believe I forgot my own birthday… Again." he said awkwardly.

"I told you, you work too much." Cecil told him playfully.

The entire restaurant was decorated with streamers and balloons. All of the scientists from his team were there, along with quite a few of the townspeople. Dana was there, along with the rest of radio interns. Even Old Woman Josie was there.

Cecil had been right - Carols did love the cake. He never knew a wheat-and-wheat-by-product free cake could taste so good. Carlos asked the baker how he got it to taste so good, but when the baker cheerfully told him "with magic", Carols just smiled and nodded. He had the distinct feeling the baker was not being evasive, he was being honest, and Carlos decided to leave it at that.

The rest of the evening was spent in joyfully conversation - Carlos' scientists telling stories of what Carlos was like before coming to Night Vale (he was just as forgetful back then, too), tales of Night Vale birthday traditions told by Cecil, and so much more. Carlos declared that this was the best party he had ever been to, and everyone had agreed. 

The party stayed for several hours, and after that people slowly started to leave. Soon it was just the interns, the scientists, and Cecil and Carlos. The rest had all headed home, or were getting ready to leave.

"Ready to go, Erika?" Josie asked.

Erika nodded. They both waved to the small group of people who were staying behind as they left. Carlos and Cecil thanked them for coming. 

Erika didn't fit into the passenger side of Josie's pick-up truck, so he ended up sitting in the back. That would have been very dangerous, but one of the benefits of being an angel and not really existing is that he could afford to do dangerous things that no one else would be advised to attempt. On the drive back to Joise's, Erika realized that he only liked when the drama was on the television, not in real life. It was much better to have fun things, things that made people happy, in real life. He was very glad of how things had turned out.

 

And back in the Pinknberry, the little group stayed for hours. No one would have guessed how well Cecil's interns would get along with Carlos' scientists. They discussed things late into the night, and by the end of everything, Carlos had to say that it wasn't just the best birthday he had had, but also one of the best days he had ever had period. He told Cecil so as they walked back to his apartment together. Cecil had just smiled up at him in the moonlight and said that every day he spent with Carlos was the best day he ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left kudos! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
> 
> I hope it didn't disappoint... :3


End file.
